Jim Bowie
James Bowie (c. 1796 – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American pioneer who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution, culminating in his death at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of him as a fighter and frontiersman, both real and fictitious, have made him a legendary figure in Texas history and a folk hero of American culture. Bowie was born in Kentucky. He spent most of his life in Louisiana, where he was raised and where he later worked as a land speculator. His rise to fame began in 1827 on reports of the Sandbar Fight. What began as a duel between two other men deteriorated into a mêlée in which Bowie, having been shot and stabbed, killed the sheriff of Rapides Parish with a large knife. This, and other stories of Bowie's prowess with a knife, led to the widespread popularity of the Bowie knife. Bowie's reputation was cemented by his role in the Texas Revolution. After moving to Texas in 1830, Bowie became a Mexican citizen and married Ursula Veramendi, the daughter of the Mexican vice governor of the province. His fame in Texas grew following his failed expedition to find the lost San Saba mine, during which his small party repelled an attack by a large Native American raiding party. At the outbreak of the Texas Revolution, Bowie joined the Texas militia, leading forces at the Battle of Concepción and the Grass Fight. In January 1836, he arrived at the Alamo, where he commanded the volunteer forces until an illness left him bedridden. Bowie died with the other Alamo defenders on March 6. Despite conflicting accounts of the manner of his death, the "most popular, and probably the most accurate" accounts maintain that he died in his bed after emptying his pistols into several Mexican soldiers. Early years According to his older brother John, James Bowie was born in Logan County, Kentucky, on March 10, 1796 (Historical marker: 36° 46' 25"N 86° 42' 10"W). Historian Raymond Thorp gave his birth date as April 10, but Thorp did not provide any documentation for that date. Bowie's surname was pronounced /ˈbuːi/ BOO-ee (although some reference works refer to an incorrect alternate pronunciation /ˈboʊi/ BOH-ee). Bowie was the ninth of ten children born to Reason (or Rezin) and Elve Ap-Catesby Jones (or Johns) Bowie. His father had been wounded while fighting in the American Revolutionary War, and in 1782 married the young woman who had nursed him back to health. The Bowies first settled in Georgia and then moved to Kentucky. At the time of Bowie's birth, his father owned eight slaves, eleven head of cattle, seven horses, and one stud horse. The following year the family acquired 200 acres (80 ha) along the Red River. They sold that property in 1800 and relocated to what is now Missouri, before moving to Spanish Louisiana in 1802, where they settled on Bushley Bayou in what soon became Rapides Parish. The family moved again in 1809, settling on Bayou Teche in Louisiana before finding a permanent home in Opelousas in 1812. The Bowie children were raised on the frontier and even as small children were expected to help clear the land and plant crops. All the children learned to read and write in English, but James and his elder brother Rezin could also read, write, and speak Spanish and French fluently. The children learned to survive on the frontier and how to fish and run a farm and plantation. James Bowie became proficient with pistol, rifle, and knife, and had a reputation for fearlessness. When he was a boy, one of his Native American friends even taught him to rope alligators. In response to Andrew Jackson's plea for volunteers to fight the British in the War of 1812, James and Rezin enlisted in the Louisiana militia in late 1814. The Bowie brothers arrived in New Orleans too late to participate in the fighting. After mustering out of the militia, Bowie settled in Rapides Parish, where he supported himself by sawing planks and lumber and floating them down the bayou for sale. In June 1819, he joined the Long Expedition, an effort to liberate Texas from Spanish rule. The group encountered little resistance and, after capturing Nacogdoches, declared Texas an independent republic. The extent of Bowie's participation is unclear, but he returned to Louisiana before the invasion was repelled by Spanish troops. Category:Military Heroes Category:Cruel ending Category:Freedom Fighters Category:Legendary Heroes Category:Early Modern Heroes Category:Married Heroes Category:Parents Category:Fathers Category:Heroes who lost family members Category:Heroes with Faith Category:Catholics Category:Christians Category:American Heroes